Slain Ohio students' families discuss loved ones

By Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY

CHARDON, Ohio
–
The families of three of the five students shot in Monday's deadly school shooting opened up about their loved ones — and the alleged gunman's former stepmother said the attack came out of nowhere.

By Mark Duncan, AP

Students and parents march to the high school in Chardon, Ohio, on Thursday to honor the three students who were killed in a shooting there Monday. The school re-opened to parents and students Thursday and classes resume Friday.

Students and parents march to the high school in Chardon, Ohio, on Thursday to honor the three students who were killed in a shooting there Monday. The school re-opened to parents and students Thursday and classes resume Friday.

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Julie Grey, T.J. Lane's former stepmother, told WKYC-TV in Cleveland that Lane would visit her house on occasion and wanted to start college this summer. One of her daughters was with Lane on Sunday night. "They were having a relaxing weekend," Grey said. "They hung out, did things together. There was no sign."

She said Tom Lane, T.J. Lane's dad, had gotten more involved in the teen's life recently.

Phyllis Ferguson, the mother of Demetrius Hewlin, 16, who died after being shot, said at a news conference that the tragedy should be an example of the importance of cherishing your children.

"This is one thing that we all should do for our children every day; no matter if they're ornery, whatever they're going through," she said. "You grab your child, even if they're mad at you, they'll get over it. Life goes on. You grab your children, you hug them and kiss them and you tell them you love them. If you can't tell them, you show them."

Fatal shootings at U.S. middle, high schools

Since the 1992-93 academic year, there have been at least seven shootings at U.S. middle and high schools in which three or more people died.

Sources: National School Safety Center, Associated Press, Seattle Times

Ferguson said her son's organs were donated to help others.

T.J. Lane was charged Thursday with three juvenile counts of aggravated murder in connection with Monday's school shooting that killed three high school students. Two other students were wounded in the attack.

The Geauga County prosecutor says Lane, 17, had admitted firing 10 shots at a group of students in the high school cafeteria, killing Hewlin, Russell King Jr., 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16. Lane also faces two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault.

Hewlin attended Chardon High. King and Parmertor were students at a vocational school and were waiting in the Chardon High cafeteria for their daily bus when they were shot.

Daniel Parmertor's family also spoke at the same news conference. Dominic Parmertor described his younger brother, Daniel, as "the happiest kid on the planet. I never once saw him mad. We were very close. He loved us very much."

Holly Walczak, the mother of one of the surviving students, said her son, Nick Walczak, remains in serious condition at the hospital after being shot four times, WKYC-TV reported.

The juvenile counts of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder would mean only a few years in detention if Lane is convicted. But Prosecutor David Joyce has already said he plans to try the boy as an adult, which could mean life in prison if he is found guilty. He remains in custody.

Michael Thomas, 47, whose son is a sophomore at Chardon High School, said the tragedy is a lesson.

"I am downright mad at this point that my community, my son, and my friends — that these people are going through this," he said. "I'm thinking this is a commentary on society. … Absentee parents and people that don't give their all to parenting end up with kids that slip through the cracks and then hurt other families."

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of people gathered at the city square. After a moment of silence and some words of remembrance, they quietly marched down the city's roads to Chardon High where grief counselors, school staff members and community members met them.

Traci Arbogast, a stay-at-home mom, said the future of Chardon's recovery rests with its young. "The kids will heal us," she said. "Chardon kids are strong. They are staying busy with fundraising and putting ribbons up. The kids are going to bring the community back."

Chardon School Superintendent Joseph Bergant II hugged several students inside and outside the school. He declined to make any comments to reporters.

Inside the school, the hallways were filled with red and black. Ribbons hung from lockers and cut-out red paper hearts were placed along the walls. Inside the cafeteria where the carnage took place, teddy bears, flowers and boxes of tissues marked the table where the shooting occurred. Some students sat at long brown tables recounting the shooting while others cried and pointed to the places where other students had run away from Monday's gunfire.

At a press conference at the school, assistant football coach Frank Hall — who chased Lane from the cafeteria — offered his condolences to the victims and their families.

Voice cracking, Hall said; "I'm not a hero, I'm a just a football coach and a study hall teacher. He thanked school administrators for emergency crisis training. "We all wished we never had to use it, but we used it and it worked," he said.

Emily Petkosek, 15, a sophomore at Chardon High School said looking around at the town's support makes it easier to face going back to classes. "No one is really going to move on fully, but it makes it easier to ease the pain," Petkosek said. "We're one heart beat basically."

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